Political states

For much of its history the area was simply called "Bengal" and was considered a part of India. The last few centuries several foreign powers involved themselves with the area resulting in several wars. The 20th century brought more wars, genocide, and political states. Bengal was under British rule from 1757–1947. It was a part of British India. In 1947 East Bengal and West Pakistan separated from India and formed a new country called Pakistan. But the east and west provinces were on either side of India and separated by 930 miles (1,500 km). In 1949 the Bangladesh Awami League formed to favor separation between east and west Pakistan. In 1955 East Bengal was renamed East Pakistan. Dacca was then the legislative capital of Pakistani Bengal provincial region. The peoples of East Pakistan were mostly ethnic Bengalis who had a different language and culture to the people of western Pakistan. These differences eventually led to the Bangladesh Liberation War. On 16 December 1971, Bangladesh gained independence, with the help of allied forces against West Pakistani forces.

The East Bengal Legislative Assembly was the law-making body of the province of East Bengal. It was later renamed the East Pakistan Legislative Assembly and would be succeeded by the Jatiyo Sangshad in 1971.

After the birth of Bangladesh, Bangla replaced Urdu and English as the sole national and official language, and was the language taught in schools and used in business and government. The Bangla Academy was important in this change. In the 1980s, British-style education was maintained through private English-language institutions attended by upper class children. English continued to be taught in higher education and was offered as a subject for university degrees.

At first, Arabic also lost ground in independent Bangladesh. This trend ended in the late 1970s, however, after Bangladesh strengthened its ties with Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich, Arabic-speaking countries. An unsuccessful attempt was made in 1983 to introduce Arabic as a required language in primary and secondary levels. Arabic is widely studied in Madrassas and Islamic institutions around the country for better understanding of the Quran, Hadith and any other Islamic texts.

Difficulties

Despite 30 years of independence, Bangladesh is still a poor country and has problems with corruption and political troubles as the other country have. Presently more than half of the people can read and write.

Bangladesh has heavy cyclones and natural disasters, due to this many lives are often lost. The country is one of the most densely populated in the world. Cyclones are very common in the Bay of Bengal during the middle of the year, particularly in the south of country in areas like Sundarban, Chittagong, Cox's Bazaar,or in neighboring Myanmar and Republic of India. Despite the many storms, Bangladesh does not have a very effective storm prevention system, and cyclones usually inflict heavy damage.

Geography

Bangladesh is in the Ganges Delta. This is where the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna come together. Most parts of Bangladesh are less than 12 m (39.4 ft) above the sea level. The highest point in Bangladesh is in Mowdok range at 1,052 m (3,451 ft) in the Chittagong Hill Tracts to the southeast of the country. Cox's Bazar, south of the city of Chittagong, has a beach that is uninterrupted over 120 km (75 mi).

Religion

Main page: Islam in Bangladesh

The main religion in Bangladesh is Islam (85%). Many people also follow Hinduism (14%). Most Muslims are Sunni. Islam was made the state religion in the 1980s. Christians make up less than 1% of the population.

The musical tradition of Bangladesh is lyrics-based with little instruments. Folk music is often accompanied by the ektara, an instrument with only one string. Bangladeshi dance forms are from folk traditions.

Bangladesh makes about 80 films a year. Mainstream Hindi films are also quite popular. Around 200 daily newspapers are published in Bangladesh, along with more than 500 magazines.

Rice and fish are traditional favourite foods. Biryani is a favourite dish of Bangladeshis.

The sari is by far the most widely worn dress by Bangladeshi women.The salwar kameez (shaloar kamiz) is also quite popular among espcially the younger females, and In urban areas some women wear western attire. Among men, western attire is more widely worn.

An Imperial Gazetteer of India map in 1909 shows prevailing majority religions in British India. Muslim majority areas are colored in green, including a part of Eastern Bengal and Assam that corresponds to modern-day Bangladesh.

Cox's Bazar District in southeastern Bangladesh is home to refugee camps with 300,000 Rohingya refugees who have fled persecution in Myanmar since the 1970s. The United Nations estimates that 65,000 refugees arrived after the 2016 crackdown.